National Park Day!

Given I'm only in Flagstaff for a week, I took yesterday off to see some of the National Parks. Or, I guess they were National Monuments, managed by the National Park Service. Why are some sites Parks and some Monuments? Wonder if Mark could give some insight on that one. The three I visited were:

(For those of you new to the interwebs, click the links (the underlined words), for more info; click the photos to see bigger images).

Sunset Crater - site of a volcanic eruption about 1,000 years ago. Still covered with volcanic ash, as were my shoes by the end of the morning. Fascinating to see how the ecosystem was impacted, how it evolved, and how some of it hasn't changed a bit. It was super windy and cold yesterday, so I put on as many layers as I could for a hike in the 38 degree winds. It's still cold here; note the snow capped San Francisco Peaks.

The crater (aka, where the lava erupted from the volcano). The side covered with ash has seen almost no growth since the eruption 1000 years ago:





Lava field:

These trees are growing in the middle of lava and ash fields. Hardly seems possible:

Lichen on the lava rocks. Those simple organisms will eventually - in just a few millenia - turn the lava rocks into soil:

The snow covered San Francisco Peaks:

Wupatki - site of several pueblos and first views of the Painted Desert. Given how windy it was yesterday, there was a lot of dust in the air so the views weren't as vibrant as I remembered. Ranger Ted was kind enough to lend me his binoculars for a closer look, and yep, desert is still lovely. Ranger Ted wasn't too shabby either, ba-dum-bah!

The first pueblo in the park:




View from the first pueblo:

The main pueblo at Wupatki:

View of the Painted Desert. Hope to get better images when I head to Petrified Forest National Park tomorrow:


Walnut Creek - the main trail is closed due to a rock slide that deposited 150 tons of giant rocks onto the pathways. Just as well, because the map of the trail highlights the mountain lion dens. Yeah, little too close for comfort when you can see the dens from the trail.

I also went to Flagstaff's Arboretum. I really didn't think that through very well, as all the plants are still pretty much dormant. Spring hasn't really sprung here, so the Arboretum right now is basically a collection of bare twigs and dried brush, with a handful of daffodils.

Scenic road to the Arboretum. It's nice the scenery is so pretty since the road is unpaved and the journey goes along at ~10 mph:

View of the San Francisco Peaks from the Arboretum: